Trailer hitching and tracking steering

ABSTRACT

Improvements in a trailer hitching and tracking steering system are disclosed include a new style RV or wagon style RV that includes an extendable, variable position tow bar that accommodates misalignment of a tow vehicle. The tow bar can be rotated for storage within the RV wagon. Further improvements include a wheel steering mechanism to improve tracking of a towed vehicle using a bi-directional caster front suspension for steering a wagon style RV in both a forward and reverse direction. The caster of the front wheels is automatically re-directed depending upon the direction of travel of the RV. The suspension system includes a steerable rear suspension that minimizes the amount the back wheels will cut the corner when turning. The improvements also include the use of visible light beams to guide a tow vehicle backing up to an RV to be correctly positioned for hitching without assistance.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of applicant's applicationSer. No. 13/304,102 filed on Nov. 23, 2011 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,434,769that issued on May 7, 2013 and is a continuation-in-part of applicant'sapplication Ser. No. 12/899,321 filed on Oct. 6, 2010 now U.S. Pat. No.8,066,299 which issued on Nov. 29, 2011, which claims priority toapplication Ser. No. 61/249,743 filed Oct. 8, 2009 the entire contentsof which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to improvements in trailer hitching and trailertracking systems. More particularly, the present trailering improvementsinclude an adjustable hitching system, a guiding system for determininga hitching position and a tracking system for moving a trailer.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37CFR 1.97 and 1.98.

Trailering a vehicle requires a number of different operations that areoften difficult to perform by a single person. Because the hitchingposition is often located in a place that is difficult to view it isoften best performed with two people. In many cases this is notpossible. When the trailer vehicle is heavy locating the hitch oftenrequires multiple attempts to line the tow vehicle up with the trailer.There have been several patents that have issued that allow for verticaladjustment of the hitch to secure the trailer with the tow vehicle.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,191 issued Oct. 9, 2001 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,793issued Mar. 25, 2003, both to Frank T. Sargent disclose a Double-ActingTrailer Hitch. Both of these patents allow for vertical adjustment andlimited angular adjustment of the tow ball. While these patents providefor some adjustment, the location of the tow vehicle to the trailer muststill be placed within inches of the desired location.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,403 issued May 12, 1987 to C. Glen Livingstondiscloses a Hitch Adapter for Double Caster Wheel Trailer. This patentprovides for limited side-to-side adjustment of the tow ball. Theside-to-side adjustment provides improved tracking of the towed vehicle.While this patent provides some adjustment to the hitch ball positionthe locating is limited to the amount of tracking that is possible withthe caster wheels of the tow vehicle.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,900,724 issued May 31, 2005 to Keith R. Johnson, U.S.Pat. No. 7,243,431 issued Jul. 17, 2007 to W. Lee Godwin and U.S. Pat.No. 7,354,057 issued Apr. 8, 2008 to Gary Milner each disclose the useof a laser type sighting device, but none of these patents discloseusing a pair of laser devices that provide distance and cross when thetow vehicle is in a preferred position.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,467 issued Oct. 12, 1965 to S. G. Siddal and U.S.Pat. No. 3,520,549 issued Jul. 14, 1970 to M. S. De Lay both disclose asteering mechanism for steering trailing wheels. While both of thesepatents disclose steering mechanisms for steering trailering wheels,neither of them disclose the steering mechanism as disclosed in thisapplication.

What is needed is a complete overhaul of trailer hitching, tracking andsteering to significantly reduce the time and effort to connect andtrailer and steer a trailer once it is connected to a tow vehicle. Theproposed improvements provide these solutions with the introduction of anew class of Recreational Vehicle (RV) the “Wagon Style RV” with axle'sfront and back like most cars and trucks and most particularity likewagons, not in the center like all trailers. In addition to the aboveimprovements the RV wagon will reduce or eliminate tow vehicle passengerbounce at road bumps and dips, RV sway problems, eight miscellaneousloose hitching parts to assemble and disassemble, weighing 40 to 50pounds, each time the RV is hitched or unhitched to the tow vehicle,number of times the trailer front jack stand has to be cranked up anddown to effect the hitching process, 400 to 900 pounds of weight on theback of the tow vehicle, exposed propane tanks and batteries in additionto the front jack stand on most trailers, skids or skid wheels at theback of the trailer and reducing the time it takes to hitch or unhitchfrom 15 or 20 minutes to under 2 minutes with no loose parts toassemble. The proposed improvements provide these solutions.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the improvements in trailer hitching and trackingsteering to provide a hitch that is expandable to accommodate hitchingwhere the tow vehicle is misaligned with the new Wagon Style RV. Themisalignment is accommodated by telescoping arms on the tow bar hitch.The telescoping sections are movable to connect the hitch to the towvehicle's hitch receiver. Once the tow bar is connected, the tow vehiclecan be moved forward until the tow bar extends and the spring driventapered pins lock the arms of the tow bar in the extended position fortravel. By withdrawing the tapered spring driven pins out of thetelescoping arms the tow bar can be removed from the tow vehicle hitchreceiver and raised up and into the hitch compartment to be stored outof the way and out of sight when the hitch compartment door is closed.This also will reduce the parked area used by the Wagon Style RV andfurther reduce the possibility of harm to a person that may accidentallywalk into the lowered tow bar.

It is an object of the improvements in trailer hitching and trackingsteering to provide a front wheel suspension with bi-directional casterfor steering a Wagon Style RV in both a forward and a reverse direction.The wheels caster setting can be re-directed, depending upon thedirection of travel of the RV, to allow the wheels to automaticallyshift caster direction based upon the direction of travel of the towvehicle.

It is another object of the improvements made possible with the WagonStyle RV to improve the steering and tracking of the towed vehicle. Thissystem will provide caster for the front wheels to follow the towvehicle in forward or reverse and the system also provides steering ofthe rear wheels to minimize the amount the rear of the RV will cut thecorner when making turns. In addition to eliminating wheel scrubbingthat occurs when all the wheels only track in a straight forward orrearward direction.

It is still another object of the improvements in RV hitching andtracking steering to utilize two or more visible laser light beams toeasily and effectively guide a tow vehicle driver to position the towvehicle in the correct position to hitch the RV without any help. Keepin mind that the tow bar mechanism allows for a miss-alignment of morethan 8 inches in either direction making the positioning of the towvehicle very easily done without assistance. The laser lights on thefront of the RV are adjusted to converge in the center of the rearwindow of the tow vehicle when the tow vehicle reaches a place near theoptimum position to hitch the RV to the tow vehicle. The laser lightsproduce two small red dots on the back window that will move together asthe tow vehicle is backed toward the RV. This makes it easy to stop justthe right distance from the RV and the red dots only have to converge inthe vicinity of the center of the back window because the tow bar hitchaffords ample side to side adjustment if the tow vehicle is not in theexact right place. The driver will see the laser beams in his insiderear view mirror.

Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with theaccompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 shows the tow bar hitch in the travel position.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the tow bar hitch in the retracted position.

FIG. 3 shows a second preferred embodiment of the tow bar hitch in thetravel position.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the second preferred embodiment of the towbar hitch in the retracted position.

FIG. 5 shows a front view of the tow bar hitch in the out of use or putaway position.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the tow bar storage compartment with anothercontemplated version of sectional doors.

FIG. 7 shows a side view of the tow bar storage compartment with anothercontemplated version of a one piece door rotating out and up.

FIG. 8 shows a prior art pivoting caster.

FIG. 9 shows a Bi-Directional Caster.

FIG. 10 shows an electrical pictorial diagram of a directional switchingsystem.

FIG. 11 is a second preferred embodiment of a bi-directional caster.

FIG. 12 is a third preferred embodiment of a bi-directional caster

FIG. 13 is a rear view of the pivoting axis according to a fourthembodiment.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the pivoting axis according to the fourthembodiment.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the fourth embodiment showing the differentcamber directions for forward and reverse.

FIG. 16 is an isometric view of the hitch connection from FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 17 is a top view of a first preferred embodiment of a steerablerear suspension.

FIG. 18 is a top view of a second preferred embodiment of a steerablerear suspension.

FIG. 19 shows a dual laser sighting mechanism.

FIG. 20 shows an image on a rear window for the dual laser sightingmechanism.

FIG. 21 shows a spring driven tapered locking pin with the tapered pinin an installed orientation.

FIG. 22 shows a spring driven tapered locking pin with the tapered pinin a retracted orientation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a top view of the tow bar hitch in the “in use travelposition”. FIG. 2 shows a top view of the tow bar hitch 20 in theretracted position. In FIG. 1, both side rails 27 and 28 are locked inplace by the spring loaded, tapered locking pins 37 and 38. It isimportant to note that the telescoping stabilizer bar 85 is shown closedin FIG. 1 and open in FIG. 2. The stabilizer bar 85 stabilizes the towbar assembly to a rigid configuration that is necessary to tow the RVand more particularly to push the RV backward when parking. In the “inuse travel position” the coil spring 26 is resisting the weight of thehitch assembly making it easy to lower down to the travel position andraise back up again to the out of use or put away position as shown inFIG. 2. When not in use the hitch assembly is raised upright with thetubular base 25 rotating inside of the three supports 22, 23 and 24.This position represents the put away or stored position. While the RVis parked and the tow bar is in the put away position the locking pins37 and 38 are withdrawn and the two side rails 27 and 28 are in thetelescope closed position making the entire assembly much shorter andmore compact.

The stabilizer bar 85 telescopes to allow for side to side motion of theactual hitch stem in order to align the stem with the hitch receiver onthe back of the tow vehicle. The stabilizer bar is connected to the twoside rails at points 45 and 87 which is a pivotal connection that allowsfor side to side movement. The ends 83 and 84 of the two side rails 27and 28 pivot vertically at points 88 and 89 to allow for rotationalpositioning.

To use the tow bar 20 a person takes hold of the tow bar at the ball andsocket assembly 86 and begin to swing out and down to the level of thehitch receiver at the back of the tow vehicle that you have positionedin front of the RV to hitch up. The person then pulls the assemblytoward the tow vehicle to a position of about half of the full extensionof the two side rails 27 and 28. At this point the stem of the ball andsocket assembly can be moved from side to side because the two siderails 27 and 28 are not locked in place in this position. This allowsfor aligning the stem with the hitch receiver on the back of the towvehicle if the vehicle was not parked in exactly the right place. Oncethe stem is aligned with the hitch receiver the stem can be insertedinto the receiver and safety pin and cotter key installed. At this pointthe two side rails 27 and 28 are not yet completely extended and thelocking pins 37 and 38 are still withdrawn. Now move the two springloaded locking pins to the ready position so they will spring to thelock position when the side rails reach the fully extended position atwhich point the locking pin spring will drive the locking pins in thehole. This will take place when the driver starts to move the towvehicle forward and pull the two side rails out to the extended positionand make the Tow Bar secure for travel.

To unhitch a person begins by removing the cotter key and safety pin atthe trailer hitch receiver at the rear of the tow vehicle. The personwithdraws the two locking pins 37 and 38 and while holding the ball andsocket assembly 86 they pull the stem out of the trailer hitch receiver.This will cause the two side rails 27 and 28 to begin to telescopeclosed and when the stem is clear of the hitch receiver begin to raisethe tow bar up and toward the front of the RV at which time the two sidebars will slide all the way to the telescope closed position and whenyou have the tow bar all the way up it is in the out of use put awayposition.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the tow bar hitch in the “in use travelposition”. FIG. 4 shows a top view of the tow bar hitch 50 in theretracted position. In FIG. 3, both side rails 27 and 28 are locked inplace by the spring loaded, tapered locking pins 37 and 38. In the “inuse travel position” the coil spring 26 is resisting the weight of thehitch assembly making it easy to lower down to the travel position andraise back up again to the out of use or put away position as shown inFIG. 4. When not in use the hitch assembly is raised upright with thetubular base 25 rotating inside of the three supports 22, 23 and 24.This position represents the put away or stored position. While the RVis parked and the tow bar is in the put away position the locking pins37 and 38 are withdrawn and the two side rails 27 and 28 are in thetelescope closed position making the entire assembly much shorter andmore compact.

To use the tow bar 50 a person takes hold of the universal joint 31hitch 36 and begin to swing out and down to the level of the hitchreceiver at the back of the tow vehicle that you have positioned infront of the RV to hitch up. The person then pulls the assembly towardthe tow vehicle to a position of about half of the full extension of thetwo side rails 27 and 28. At this point the stem of the ball and socketassembly can be moved from side to side because the two side rails 27and 28 are not locked in place in this position. This allows foraligning the stem with the hitch receiver on the back of the tow vehicleif the vehicle was not parked in exactly the right place. Once the stemis aligned with the hitch receiver the stem can be inserted into thereceiver and safety pin and cotter key installed. At this point the twoside rails 27 and 28 are not yet completely extended and the lockingpins 37 and 38 are still withdrawn. Now move the two spring loadedlocking pins to the ready position so they will spring to the lockposition when the side rails reach the fully extended position at whichpoint the locking pin spring will drive the locking pins in the hole.This will take place when the driver starts to move the tow vehicleforward and pull the two side rails out to the extended position andmake the Tow Bar secure for travel.

To unhitch a person begins by removing the cotter key and safety pin atthe trailer hitch receiver at the rear of the tow vehicle. The personwithdraws the two locking pins 37 and 38 and while holding the universaljoint 31 hitch 36 they pull the stem 36 out of the trailer hitchreceiver. This will cause the two side rails 27 and 28 to begin totelescope closed and when the stem is clear of the hitch receiver beginto raise the tow bar up and toward the front of the RV at which time thetwo side bars will slide all the way to the telescope closed positionand when you have the tow bar all the way up it is in the out of use putaway position.

FIG. 5 shows a front view of the tow bar hitch 20 or 50 in the out ofuse or put away position. FIG. 6 shows a side view of the tow barstorage compartment with another contemplated version of a sectionaldoor 18. FIG. 7 shows a side view of the tow bar storage compartmentwith another contemplated version of a one piece door 19.

FIG. 8 shows a prior art pivoting caster. Prior art pivoting casters arethose found on the front of baby buggies, shopping carts, swivel chairsand many more moveable objects. These casters are able to go in anydirection by swiveling around a full 360 degrees around the central axis40. These Casters have a straight up and down vertical axis 41 ratherthan a tilted one like the automotive wheel suspension. The verticalaxis 40 is not tilted but strait up and down and the wheel is free tomove from forward 47 caster to rearward caster based upon the directionof travel, pull or drag on the bottom 44 of the wheel 43. The wheel 43and axle 41 is offset 42 from the vertical axes 41 so the wheel 43 hasthe inclination to follow whatever direction it is pulled or pushed.

FIG. 9 shows a Bi-Directional Caster. The bi-directional caster allowsthe wheels to self-steer the trailing wheels 53 while moving forward 47and or backward using a variation of the utility caster system ratherthan the usual automotive caster system. In an automotive caster systemthe caster on the front wheels of most automotive vehicles, motorcyclesand bicycles is primarily to keep the vehicle going straight if thedriver lets go of the steering wheel or handlebars. This arrangementmakes the vehicle come back to straight after making a turn. This casterhas a secondary characteristic in that it makes the wheels want tofollow the tow vehicle when being towed. This allows people with motorhomes to tow a car behind their motor home.

The self-tracking is performed because of the caster design of the carfront suspension system allows for forward tracking but does not providefor tracking in a reverse direction or back up. The existing automotivecaster system is achieved by swinging 51 the vertical axis of the frontwheels 53 back at the top and forward at the bottom. The purposedbi-directional caster provides a means to easily and effectively changethe caster of the front wheels of a towed vehicle so they will caster inboth directions. This allows the wheel 53 to caster going forward 52 andbackward 54 when being towed by a tow vehicle. This system will make itpossible to move the two axles on a travel trailer chassis from thecenter of the trailer to one axle in front and the other in back muchthe same as most all four wheeled vehicles. This would be betterdescribed as a travel wagon because with one axle in front and one axlein back it resembles a child's toy wagon or a farmers' hay wagon.

The proposed solution retained the utility casters ability to caster inboth directions but not swivel around to accomplish this. The spindle 48and spindle arm 55 can swing in a limited arc fashion between the twostops 56 and 57. The arm 55 is lifted over the central axis 58 of thepivot 59 to lock the arm 55 at the end (56 or 57) of the swing to thenew position because the weight of the travel wagon works to keep itthere until shifted to the other direction when the vehicle is to changedirection.

FIG. 10 shows an electrical pictorial diagram of a directional switchingsystem used with the pivoting arm 55. The method of shifting the frontwheels of the towed vehicle between forward caster and backward caster.When the tow vehicle is shifted to reverse an electrical circuit on thevehicle sends electricity to the back-up lights at both taillights onthe back of the vehicle. By tapping into this electric circuit anddirecting the flow of electricity to the towed vehicle (travel wagon)through the existing power cable connection to the vehicle being towedwe have a means to send a measured amount of electrical current totemporarily apply the electric front wheel brakes 70 on the vehiclebeing towed. By applying the two front brakes 70 on the towed vehicle wehave caused them to hold the front wheels still as the tow vehiclebegins to move backward and push the towed vehicle back. This will causethe front wheels 71 now attached to the second spindle arm 55 to swingto the rearward caster position and therefore caster properly whilebeing backed up. When the driver shifts back to drive (forward) theelectric current will temporarily apply the towed vehicle front brakesagain and hold the wheels from rolling while the tow vehicle and towedvehicle move forward until the caster shifting is complete and theelectric brakes are released.

The tow vehicle is free to pull the travel wagon just like the motorhome pulls a car but unlike the motor home and the car, the travel wagoncan be backed up by simply shifting the tow vehicle to reverse whichautomatically adjusts the RV front wheels to reverse caster. Whenelectric solenoid 72 is activated the arm of the solenoid will open thereverse switch 73 and when the solenoid 72 is de-activate the arm of thesolenoid will allow reverse switch 73 to close and open forward switch74 which intern adjusts the RV front wheels back to forward caster fordriving forward. The motion of the spindle arm 55 will change theposition of reverse switch 75 and forward switch 76 to complete theshifting of the front wheels caster.

FIG. 11 is a second preferred embodiment of a bi-directional caster. Inthis embodiment the spindle arm 61 is attached to the end of the axle 63where the front wheel spindle is normally attached to a stock trailer orwagon. A second spindle arm 62 pivots at bearing 64 in a limited arc ofmovement for a wheel spindle 63. The location of the second spindle arm62 is changeable based upon the direction of travel of the trailer orwagon to move the second spindle arm 62 in a forward or reverse casterposition. A slot 65 in the first spindle arm provides a limited amountof arc travel to the second spindle arm 62 with the use of a bolt 66, orsimilar device that is installed through the slot 65 from the back sideof the first spindle arm 61 and threaded into the second spindle arm 62.

A third preferred and contemplated method of providing bi-directionalcaster is shown in FIG. 12. This method will roll or slide the spindle80 and vehicle wheel forward and in back of the vertical axes 58 of thesuspension system rather than the swinging motion described. This systemalso provides a “lock in place” characteristic made possible by the arcdesign 81 in the center section where the spindle wheel 82 will travelfrom forward to rearward caster position. As seen in FIG. 9, the spindlepositioned at the lower end of the second spindle arm this spindleroller will be locked in place at the end of its travel by the weight ofthe RV. This configuration is as shifted from forward and backwardcaster in the same way by using the front wheel brakes the same aspreviously shown and described. This rolling or sliding spindle assemblywould be installed on the vehicle front suspension by removing theexisting spindle and replacing it with this sliding assembly toaccomplish the forward and rearward caster desired.

FIG. 13 is a rear view of the pivoting axis according to a fourthembodiment, FIG. 14 is a side view of the pivoting axis according to thefourth embodiment and FIG. 15 is a side view of the fourth embodimentshowing the different camber directions for forward and reverse. In FIG.13 the two outside tires 53 are shown mounted on the outsides of thecentral shaft 63 and resting on the ground 44. The axle 63 supports theweight of the trailer on leaf springs 40. A pivot arm 55 changes thetilt or caster of the wheel 53 from forward caster 51 to backward caster39 based upon the direction of travel of the trailer as shown in FIG.15. A switching mechanism, similar to the mechanism shown in FIG. 10,can use a drive motor 67 to turn a screw 64 that changes the casterangle of the pivot arm 55 as shown in FIG. 14. The drive motor 67 can bemounting to the underside 68 of the trailer.

When the tow vehicle is shifted into reverse an electric circuit on thetow vehicle sends electricity to the back-up lights of the tow vehicle.The electrical circuit of the reverse lights can be detected and a relayor other device can use this detection to set the caster direction ofthe tires using the electrical connection between the tow vehicle andthe trailer. Using this system the electrical motor 67 can be activatedto shift the pivot arm 55 to the reverse caster position to allow forbackward travel. When the back-up lights are not energized the drivemotor 67 will change to caster direction for forward 51 travel of thevehicle.

FIG. 16 is an isometric view of the hitch connection from FIGS. 3 and 4.The universal joint 31 hitch 36 allows rotation 34 of the hitch 36 whenthe trailer rocks from side to side relative to the tow vehicle. Auniversal joint 31, 32 and 33 allow for three directions of freerotation to allow for angular yaw pitch and roll of the trailer relativeto the tow vehicle. This construction eliminates the typical ball andsocket connection between a trailer and a tow vehicle but uses thestandard receiver that is present on most tow vehicles. The universaljoint 31 hitch 36 is shown with the connecting arms 27 and 28 of thetrailer tow bar.

FIG. 17 is a top view of a first preferred embodiment of a steerablerear suspension. FIG. 18 is a top view of a second preferred embodimentof a steerable rear suspension. These top views of the RV chassis orframe 100 show the front wheels 102 and 103 in a right turn position.The rear wheels 104 and 105 are in a slight left turn position to keepthe rear of the RV from cutting the corner in a right turn. The tie rodsfor front and back wheels keep the wheels turning left and right inunison. A first lever arm 108 (moved side to side by the front wheel tierod 106 when the front wheels turn left or right). A second lever arm109 (moved side to side by the first lever arm and in turn moves therear wheel tie rod 107 side to side which ultimately steers the rearwheels 104 and 105 in the opposite direction of the front wheels to keepthe rear of the vehicle from cutting the corner when turning. Thepivotal anchor point 120 of the first lever arm is attached to thechassis. The sliding connection of the first lever arm 108 to the frontwheel tie rod 106 that moves the lever arm side to side when the frontwheels 102 and 103 turn left or right. Ultimately, turning the rearwheels by moving the second lever arm side to side. Sliding connection121 connects the front lever arm 108 to the front wheel tie rod 106. Thesliding connection 122 of the first lever arm to the second lever arm109 that provides the side to side motion necessary to ultimately steerthe rear wheels 104 and 105 in the direction desired to limit the rearof the vehicle from cutting the corner when turning. The slidingconnection 123 of the second lever arm 109 to the rear tie rod 107 thatmoves the tie rod side to side ultimately turning the rear wheels 104and 105 in the desired direction to limit the vehicle from cutting thecorner when turning. The pivotal anchor point 124 of the second leverarm attached to the chassis 100.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 18, the resulting steering isessentially the same, but the method of turning the wheels is different.In this embodiment, a steel cable 116 connects the front wheel tie rod106 with the rear wheel tie rod 107. Because of the elongated length ofthe steel cable 116 a plurality of guides 111 and 112 maintain the steelcable 116 in proper position for its travel between the front pulleys115 and the rear pulleys 110. The front tie rod 106 is connected to thesteel cable 116 with a connector 113 and the rear tie rod 107 isconnected to the steel cable 116 with a connector 114. These connectors113 and 114 allow both the front and rear wheels to turn in unison. Whenthe front wheels 102 and 103 are turned to the right the tie rod 106moves to the left which pulls the steel cable 116 to the left and movesthe rear wheel 104 and 105 tie rod 107 to the right ultimately turningthe rear wheels 104 and 105 in the desired direction to limit thevehicle from cutting the corner when turning. The amount of rear wheelsteering is expected to be about one half of the front wheel steeringand should be adjusted by the manufacturer to provide optimumperformance.

FIG. 19 shows a dual laser sighting mechanism. The RV wagon 90 is shownbehind the tow vehicle 91. The tow bar hitch 20 or 50 is shown attachedto the RV wagon 90 with the tow bar stem 96 ready to insert into the towvehicle hitch receiver 97. When connecting an RV wagon 90 to a towvehicle (unlike the present day RV trailer) the tow vehicle only has tobe in the vicinity of the RV wagon to hitch up because of theflexibility of the tow bar hitch system. To assist in aligning thereceiver 97 with the tow bar stem 96 an intersecting set of laser lightbeams 92 and 93 are disclosed. The beams 94 and 95 of light from theselasers can be seen in darkness and in daylight. In the preferredembodiment the lights are adjusted to converge in the center of the rearwindow 98 of the tow vehicle 91 when the tow vehicle is in the ideallocation. When this occurs the driver only needs to be in the vicinityto insert the tow bar stem into the hitch receiver.

FIG. 20 shows an image on a rear window for the dual laser sightingmechanism. As seen in FIG. 18 the driver has backed the tow vehicletoward the RV wagon until the laser beam spots on the rear windowconverge somewhere in the vicinity of the center of the window. It'seasy to back the tow vehicle until the beams converge and then stop butit's harder to hit the exact center of the window from side to side.That's where the flexibility of the tow bar hitch mechanism makes iteasy to hit an acceptable position within approximately eight inches oneither side of center. These laser lights can be turned on and off fromthe drivers' seat of the tow vehicle with the use of a key chain remotelike the one used to unlock the doors of most automobiles. While thisembodiment shows the laser light beams 94 and 95 emitting from the RV 90to the tow vehicle 91 it is further contemplated that the laser lightbeams can emit from the tow vehicle 91 where they project and image ontothe RV 90 that is visible to the person driving the tow vehicle 91. Itis further contemplated that the laser lights 92 and 93 can beelectrically connected to the back-up light circuit of the vehicle toonly emit light when the tow vehicles is in reverse.

FIG. 21 shows a spring driven tapered locking pin with the tapered pinin an installed orientation and FIG. 22 shows a spring driven taperedlocking pin with the tapered pin in a retracted orientation. These viewsonly show one side rail 27 and one tapered locking pin 37. While onlyone side rail and associated tapered locking pin is shown and described,this is typical of the construction of the tapered locking pin that iscontemplated to eliminate a requirement for loose parts for assembly andhitching. In FIGS. 1 and 2 only the handle of the locking pin 37 isshown with a housing 133 that contains the sub assembly. Within thehousing 133 an extension spring 134 pushes the tapered pin 130 into atapered receiver 132. The end of the tapered pin 130 is rounded 136 toassist in guiding the tapered pin 130 into the hole 132. To remove thetapered pin 130 the tapered pin 130 is pulled back quickly and shouldrelease the tapered pin 130 from the tapered hole 132 because of thetapered configuration. It is also contemplated that the same or similarspring driven tapered pin configuration can be used at the trailer hitchreceiver on the back of the tow vehicle instead of the pin and cotterkey that is currently being used in most tow vehicles.

Thus, specific embodiments of a trailer hitching and tracking steeringsystem have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to thoseskilled in the art that many more modifications besides those describedare possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. Theinventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except inthe spirit of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A front and rear steering wagon stylerecreational vehicle comprising: a recreational vehicle having aplurality of axles; said plurality of axles is at least a front axle anda rear axle; said plurality of axles are steerable; said axles beingmechanically linked with a single continuous loop of cable that extendsessentially around an interior of a frame of said recreational vehicle;at least four pulleys are arraigned within said interior if said frameof said recreational vehicle to guide said cable and retain tension onsaid cable; said continuous loop of cable is connected at a first pointwith a cable connector that is linked to front tie rods that controlsteering of said front axle, and said cable is connected at a secondpoint with a second cable connector that is linked to rear tie rods thatcontrol steering of said rear axle, and said front tie rods and saidrear tie rods are different lengths.
 2. The front and rear steeringwagon style recreational vehicle according to claim 1 that furtherincludes a directional control mechanism that changes the caster of atleast two wheels based upon a direction of travel.
 3. The front and rearsteering wagon style recreational vehicle according to claim 1 whereinat least two wheels are controlled with an over center spindle arm tochange a caster direction of said at least two wheels.